Taking the debate out of the question of which African managed services provider is the leader in IT Service Management, Business Connexion has announced that it is the first organisation on the continent to have reached the final of the Pink Elephant Project of the Year Award.

With the investments it has made in IT Service Management, the company confidently asserts its ability to manage, support and deliver services to its clients to the highest global standards.
Pink Elephant is globally regarded as a foremost authority on IT Service Management (ITSM), which has contributed to the set of concepts and practices known as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) since their introduction in 1987. It has presented an annual ITSM conference since 1996.

According to Willie Ackerman, General Manager for Service Integration & Workspace at Business Connexion, this recognition is of particular importance as the company transitions into the cloud computing era. “While the cloud era means easier and lower cost procurement of critical services for clients, it also means a heightened duty upon the service provider. After all, cloud services means always available, scalability to match the needs of clients no matter what those may be, and absolute reliability,” he says.

Noting that the company has, since 2006, invested in the necessary data centre and network infrastructure to provide cloud and other managed services to the South African and African markets, Ackerman says it has simultaneously invested in improving the way in which it manages, supports and delivers these services. “A particular focus exists on continually improving the Service Management process capabilities, as defined by the ITIL best practice framework,” Ackerman says.

During 2010, he reveals that the Services division ran an ITIL v3 process improvement project to certify its processes against the ITIL process maturity model and bring Business Connexion up to the most recent iteration of the IT Service Management guiding principles.
It was this project which resulted in the company’s selection as a finalist at the Pink Elephant awards – a first for any African company.

“The continuous focus on implementing best practices to support the design, transition and delivery of quality services to our clients resulted in Business Connexion receiving recognition from Pink Elephant at its International IT Service Management conference, held recently in Las Vegas, USA,” John Jenkins, Chief Executive: Services at Business Connexion confirms.

He further adds that Business Connexion was among just four companies globally which were recognised for ITIL project improvement in 2010. Two were from the United States and one from the United Kingdom.

In presenting the awards, George Spalding, Vice President at Pink Elephant and co-author of ITIL v3 Continual Service Improvement, notes the significance of making the final four: “There are thousands of companies, which are actively involved in ITIL implementations and initiatives worldwide. As ITIL has matured over the years with ITSM, we have seen a bigger and bigger pool of unbelievably great projects, this year no exception; we received more nominations by double than we have ever had and are pleased to recognise the four finalists.”

Continuing, Jenkins says Business Connexion can now officially state that it is the leader in South Africa, Africa and the Southern Hemisphere in its approach and commitment to Service Management and delivering services to clients which are independently verified for quality. “The journey does not stop here, however. It is our commitment to continue on the path to excellence through continuous improvement,” he concludes.